


On the night line

by emanzigaytion



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:14:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29443920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emanzigaytion/pseuds/emanzigaytion
Summary: Alicia is in her first semester at UC Berkley. She meets a stranger on the train and can't help but be enraptured.or: Al and Alicia meet in a world in which the dead never walked.fluffy AU because they deserve a fucking breakTitle inspired by Alt-J - Lovely Day
Relationships: Althea & Alicia Clark, Althea/Alicia Clark
Comments: 14
Kudos: 28





	1. Just one look at you

It was a warm Friday evening, as was to be expected in California, to be honest. Alicia stood on the platform of the train-station, waiting for the train to finally take her back to her small apartment. Her place was about a half an hour train ride from university. That seemed to be way too long today. She was exhausted. She had started at UC Berkley two months ago and it had turned out to be way more than she had bargained for. 

Matt and her had broken up a month ago, due to... heck, she couldn't even say due to what exactly. Maybe it was the distance, or it might have been the lack of time or the lack of interest. He was extremely talented, and she still respected that immensely about him, but being away from each other their dynamic had quickly changed. And honestly, that was okay. They had decided to give it some time and to try being friends. Just because their relationship didn't stand the test of time that didn't mean she valued him any less as a person. The breakup had been a mutual decision for them, and they had now started slowly relearning the dynamic of their relationship. It was more freeing than Alicia had expected it to be. 

So now she was at UC Berkley, in way over her head and trying to keep a clear head through all the deadlines that were rapidly approaching. Her social life basically consisted of the texts Matt and her shared, and the occasional small-talk with people in her classes. She had decided to take up an English Literature major and a minor in Linguistics, and while she first expected that to be easy she quickly learned it to be anything but. Somehow she had so much material to read for her courses, she spend hours on it every day. And then some of the professors were unorganized as hell, so basically you never knew what you were in for until the course started. 

In her bag she carried her laptop, she would have to do some reading on the train, the next morning she had to catch the train home. Madison had been adamant that she stay with them at least one weekend a month. Honestly, she didn't even know why her mom tried to pretend. The past two times she visited had been spent in a hospital (what else was new?) because her brother was doing drugs. Again. She didn't expect this weekend to be any different. 

When the train came in it created small turbulences in the warm air and messed up her hair. Grabbing onto her bag, pushing her wild hair behind her ears as best as she could she hurried onto the train and quietly cursed to herself when her headphones tangled with her hair and created a whole new mess. There was a free seat a short distance away, so she plopped down into the cushions and started untangling the mess of hair from her headphones. Cursing under her breath, fumbling around, she pushed her fingers into her hair as she lifted her head sheepishly, looking around and hoping that no one had witnessed her embarrassing herself. Sadly she had no such luck, a few seats away sat a young woman, looking vaguely amused and quirking an eyebrow, staring straight into her eyes. She quickly looked down again, blushing in embarrassment. Of course someone had noticed. 

After calming herself down she took her laptop and sat it on her lap, opening a document for her linguistics course. She had to read about transcription practices and later on she would have to do a transcript of a dialogue of her choice. She really didn't want to draw any attention to herself so she tried to stay as quiet as possible. After some minutes of reading and jotting down notes she decided she had to take a pause. The week had been hell and she had barely had time to eat or drink all day. Taking her water bottle out of her bag she took in her surroundings. 

The train was mostly empty, it was late after all. The only person near was the young woman who had witnessed her demise. Taking a closer look at the short haired brunette, Alicia had to admit she was gorgeous. She had a strong jawline. And the features of her face were defined. Her eyebrows were sharp and the corners of her lips quirked up a bit. Realizing that she had spend a lot longer looking at those lips than deemed appropriate, in any situation really, she lifted her eyes back up, only to have a minor heart attack. The stranger was looking at her. And there went the eyebrow again, conveying something between a question and amusement. Her eyes were enrapturing, the color was a somewhat colder brown, and her look was open and curious. Alicia blushed, still looking at the woman. Hot damn, how the hell did anyone look that good? In any other situation she would have tried to talk to the woman, but she was practically dying of embarrassment right now. 

She looked down, opened her bottle and stole a glance back at the brunette when she deemed it safe. It was anything but. The woman was still looking at her, and she was caught by surprise, so naturally, she started choking on her water. Setting down her bottle, still coughing heavily, she blindly reached for the cap she had placed in her lap. She didn't find it and the coughs made it increasingly difficult to keep the bottle upright, just so she didn't do something dumb, like spill it on her laptop. Just when she had basically given up on finding the damn bottle cap she felt a warm hand in her lap and someone took her bottle away. The next thing she knew the brunette stood there, closing the bottle and clapping her back so the coughs would let up. 

When the coughs had subsided Alicia was all but panting in her seat, the stranger still standing next to her, making sure she was alright. Alicia groaned internally. Of course the most embarrassing shit had to happen when the most gorgeous person ever was around. 

'Ugh, fuck me.' she muttered in utter embarrassment. 

'I personally like to know a persons name first before that's happening. I'm Al by the way.' the woman said, turning to her,throwing in a wink for good measure. A fucking wink. 

'Fuck. I said that out loud, didn't I.' Alicia quietly responded. 'Just my luck, apparently I can't be around a gorgeous woman without making a complete idiot out of myself today.' Al's lip turned up at the corner. 

'Gorgeous, huh?' she retorted, leaning in conspiratorially. It looked as if she had a hard time suppressing a grin. Her eyes now lay on Alicia, the gaze making it a little difficult to concentrate … on things... important things... such as the ability to speak. 

'I – gosh – ehm- Hi Al, I – my name is Alicia.' she stuttered her way through the introduction. God, what was wrong with her? 'And apparently I have forgotten how to form a sentence despite studying freaking linguistics' she added sarcastically in her head. Well, she thought it was in her head. After Al huffed out a laugh she knew better though, so she added a quick 'Please don't. I swear I'm not always such a hot mess.'. Al now burst into laughter, looking her in the eyes. 

'As opposed to what? Just hot? It's okay, Alicia. We all have our moments. It just happens to be you have a lot of them today. And I'm around to witness them.' Alicia brought her hands up to her face in shame. Still somehow what the woman said resonated with her. Then something registered with her, and she had to do a double take.

'Wait, did you- Did you just call me hot?' she questioned, in utter disbelief. How could this woman find her even remotely hot, when she had literally seen her choke on water after trying to force the cord of her headphones out of her tousled mess of hair. Al just grinned at her. 

'You call me gorgeous, the least I can do is tell you you're hot. But to be honest there's definitely more going on the then could be described by using the word hot.' she said, the grin turning into a sincere smile. The sincerity in it knocked Alicia off her feet. Well, it would have, had she not been sitting. 'You're also breathtakingly beautiful and I think your eyes must be the most beautiful color in existence' she continued quietly, then her face turned into one of mortification. 'I said that out loud, didn't I' she asked, wide-eyed. Now it was Alicia's turn to laugh out loud. At least this attraction didn't seem to be one-sided. Al obviously losing her filter as well put her at ease. 

'Don't worry, happens to the best of us.' she quipped, throwing in a wink. Al smiled, a smaller, more private smile this time, but it was a smile nonetheless. 

'So, Alicia. What are you writing there?' she asked, curiously eyeing the laptop. 

'Oh, I'm just trying to get some studying done. You know how it is, not enough hours in the day and all that.' she smiled back. 

'Well, is it interesting to you at least?' Al asked, leaning her body onto Alicia's seat. 

'Yeah, it is. It is exhausting, though. I gotta transcribe some stuff – I'm a linguistics minor – and I don't think I have a grasp on what the heck I'm supposed to do, yet.' she admitted, sheepishly

'Wait, transcriptions? No way, you're in luck. I'm a journalist so transcripts are pretty much second nature at this point in time.' Alicia couldn't believe her luck. 'If you'd like I'd be happy to help.' Al added.

'Oh my god, you would literally be my favorite person. Could you?' 

'Sure, no problem at all.' 

'Wait, so you're a journalist. How old are you?' she asked, curiously.

'Alicia, you ought to know better than to ask a woman her age.'Al chastised, playfully. 'I'm 26. How about you, how old are you?' she asked.

'Wow, okay. You look somewhat... younger. I'm 18.' Alicia answered, keeping her eyes on Al's face, wanting to see her reaction.

'18, huh? You look older than that. Or maybe you act older than that? I don't know, you APPEAR older than 18, I guess.' she finally settled on. Her face was scrunched up in concentration, as if she was thinking of saying something else. 

'Is my age a problem for you? Just so we're clear, you were flirting with me, right? I didn't imagine that part?' Alicia blushed, completely taken by surprise, that she had somehow actually asked that, out loud.

'Wow, you really don't beat around the bush, do you.' Al answered her, brow quirked upwards, again, and voice amused. 'Yes, I was flirting. And the age thing, correct me if I'm wrong, even though I rarely am, but I think that you're a lot more mature than your age would suggest. Your little quirks, the fact that you actually give a shit about your studies. You being here, studying, on a Friday night. No I don't think the age is a problem for me. Is it for you?' she concluded.

'It's not. And I'd like to think you're right. My family dynamics are – unusual at best – and I think as a result of that, I grew independent and grew up pretty fast.' she furrowed her brows, when admitting the last part. Here she was, talking to Al about her fucked up family, after barely knowing her. Al seemed to register it was out of character for her to be so open about her family.

'I'm glad to hear that it's not.' she responded after a pause. 'Oh shit, the next stop is mine. Give me your phone?' Al reached out her hand expectantly and Alicia quickly unlocked it and handed it to her. After she had handed it back Alicia smiled at her slightly. 'Text me?' Al asked with a smile. 'Shit I really gotta get going.' she said apologetically. 'I'm really sorry, Alicia. Have a good night.' And with that Al turned on the spot and hurried to her seat, hastily gathering up her belongings. As she walked to the exit the train slowed down already. But before exiting, Al turned around to look at Alicia again, lifting her hand in goodbye. Alicia sat there, smiling widely and mirroring the movement. What a day. 

Looking at the sign she saw that she only had two more stops until she had to get off the train as well. Continuing to work on her transcription would most definitely prove to be useless. It was late, and quite honestly, she was glad to just stumble into her bed once she reached her apartment. The rest of the train ride passed in the blink of an eye. She barely managed to stay awake, lost in thought and tired. When she finally exited at her stop she couldn't help but smile tiredly. 

A few minutes later she entered her apartment, getting out of her shoes and setting her bag onto the table. She took a small bowl of salad she had left from the previous night and scarfed it down. After she had changed into a comfy wide shirt and gotten ready for bed she settled down in the sheets, phone in hand. Was it too early to text? Or was it rude to wait? She had never been so nervous just over talking to someone. Al had been nervous as well, so maybe it really didn't matter. She took a deep breath, clicked on Al's contact information and typed out a text. The words lived for mere seconds before she deleted them again. How the heck do you start a conversation with your crush? She didn't know. Well, she would still try. She typed it out and clicked send. 

Alicia (9:41 PM):  
Hey Al, it's Alicia. I just wanted to give you my number.  
And now you have it.  
Because I texted.  
Anyway, I had a nice time with you, and I just wanted to wish you a good night. 

She quietly laughed at herself. Of course she would basically word-vomit in her first text. Al made her beyond nervous. Still, she really had to go to bed so she could get some work done before leaving for her mother's house the next day. She had to do some reading, clean the kitchen and bathroom – something she had conveniently neglected to do for the past week because university was kicking her ass – take out the trash and pack her bags. It was gonna be an early morning. Her phone lighting up interrupted her thoughts. It was a text from Al.

Al (9:43 PM)  
Hi Alicia ;) Glad to see your text. I enjoyed talking to you quite a bit as well.  
Good night, sleep tight beautiful.

Alicia blushed profusely. This was going to be interesting. No one had ever flustered her this much. She sighed, putting the phone away and cuddling into her blanket. All she could think about, all she thought about, were the last words Al had sent. Sleep tight beautiful. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she shut her eyes, picturing brown eyes. Yup, she had a massive crush.


	2. Train of thought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alicia's going back to LA.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy it, and I'm always happy to hear from you :)  
> Stay safe lovely people <3  
> PS: A question for you: Are you a tea or coffee person? Or both?  
> I'm definitely both. I'm a regular tea drinker but a good espresso is also one of my guilty pleasures.

The next morning Alicia woke up before her alarm. It was shortly before 5 AM. The train-ride would take most of the day, so she had to prepare for quite some time to pass. After all, how does one spend a 10 hour train-ride? The first thing she did was crawl out of bed and sleepily head into the kitchen. There she made herself some black tea, the closest to coffee she could bare right now. She loved having a routine, so when she moved out at home she had made it a routine to brew tea and take the cup with her when she headed for the shower. Today was no different in that regard. By 6 AM she had showered, put on a comfortable jeans and top, tying her favorite flannel around her hips. She started tidying up the bathroom and cleaned up in the kitchen. Sipping her tea and grabbing an apple she headed for her bag. She threw in some underwear, her favorite shirts and pants, and then took every cable she needed for her electronic devices. She would not survive this weekend without some good old fashioned distraction. By 7 AM the bag was packed, she had packed the last apple and some water bottles as well as two granola bars into the front pocket. Her wallet and the ticket were in the side of the bag. Her phone was in the pocket of her pants. Throwing the bag over her shoulder, grabbing her keys and taking the trash-bags in the other hand she left the apartment and locked it. By 8 AM she had finally made it to the train. 

The wagon she got on was mostly empty, save for a few people who appeared to still be intoxicated from the alcohol they consumed the night before. Alicia kept her distance and set her bag down on the seat next to her. She was awake now, but she wanted to indulge in a few moments of dreamlike state right now. The encounter the day before had rattled her. She had always been quite self assured and she was not used to feeling so out of her element. She sighed. At least she had gotten to talk to Al. She could text her, like she had been itching to do since she woke up. Was 8 AM too early to text someone? Or was it okay if they were flirting. This overthinking was exhausting. Al had been cool, Alicia guessed that even if it was too early, Al wouldn't mind. Alicia took out her phone, opening the conversation with Al. 

Alicia (8:17 AM)  
Hey Al, hope you had a good nights sleep

The message had only been send a few seconds before she saw that Al was typing a reply.

Al (8:18 AM)  
Hi beautiful, yes indeed. I hope the same goes for you.  
What are your plans for the day? 

Alicia blushed. Of course, the very first thing Al did was flirt with her. She kind of loved it. Al was so direct, it made her thoughts spin. She was hooked.

Alicia (8:18 AM)  
Not enough but definitely good :)  
I'm on my way to LA, visit the fam. Loooong day ahead of me, spent in trains.  
You?

Al (8:20 AM)  
That sounds like a long ride. I'd happily distract you while you're on your way.

Alicia (8:21 AM)  
YES, please! I also got my stuff here so if your offer still stands, we could work on the transcription.  
Of course there's no obligation here. 

Al (8:24 AM)  
The offer still stands. I'm free all day, so we can definitely do that.  
Any preference as to how we do that?

Alicia took a second to think. Taking pictures would be really much work, and texting would definitely take way too long. Maybe they could talk on the phone? But then they would still have difficulties with the formatting. A video call seemed to be the best idea, and the train even had free WiFi. 

Alicia (8:31 AM)  
Well, if possible I think a video call would be a good idea? I got free WiFi in here, gotta take advantage^^

Al (8:33 AM)  
Sure, that works. Wanna start now? I'll quickly set everything up over here. 

Alicia (8:35 AM)  
Gladly, let me just set everything up. 

Alicia smiled at the prospect at getting to talk to Al. And seeing her, that definitely was a bonus. She prepared her laptop and set it up. She was really excited to see Al, it was ridiculous how much her mind seemed to tell her she was so ready to be in the woman's presence again. Now that she was prepared for Al, all there was to do was sit and wait.  
-

She was not prepared for the image of a tousle haired Al to sit in front of the camera, a cup of coffee cradled in her hands and a shy smile on her lips. She was absolutely breathtaking and Alicia was not sure how the heck someone could look so cute. In her complete stupor her jaw dropped, and she looked at the screen with wide eyes. So much for composure around Al. It was quite obviously a lost cause. Alicia couldn't help but look at a protruding strand of hair that fell into Al's eyes. Suddenly she wished she were there, able to push it back in its place. It appeared she was a lost cause when it came to Al. Her brain romanticized every single thing about the woman and she was not able to stop it. Looking at the shining brown eyes Alicia found herself returning the smile, albeit much more awake than her counterpart on the screen. 

'Good morning sleepyhead' Alicia teased with a sly smile on her face.

'Morning' Al sleepily replied, the words mumbled into her cup of coffee. It would have looked like she was grumpy if it were not for the blush and the upturned corners of her lips that were visible slightly above the edge of the cup. It was an endearing sight.

'Not a morning person?'

'Not on the very few days I have off. Normally I have to get up way too early to sleep in.' was the instant reply. Al set down her mug and now looked at her screen, a barely contained smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

'That I can absolutely understand. Had I not been up for ' -Alicia stopped to glance at the clock- 'the past four hours already, I would be way more tired as well.' she smiled.

'Did you sleep well at least?'

'Oh I slept really well. My day was shitty but someone kind of saved it.' was the smug reply.

'Glad to hear that. Mine was exhausting and then a fresh breath of air came stumbling onto my train.' was the cocky reply.

Alicia let out a full laugh. She should have anticipated this.

'So what had you so exhausted yesterday?' she curiously asked.

'Well, I just got home from a field assignment in Morocco. Basically didn't get any sleep, went from the airport to my bosses office and then only had time to get my stuff home before the next meeting with my colleague. It was a lot.' was the tired reply. As she talked her hand went to her temple and started rubbing it, as if to chase off a headache.

'Wow, and I complain about my schedule. That sounds like a lot. Why didn't you sleep in, though?'

'You really can't compare that. But it was.' After a short pause Al continued. 'I was kind of full of energy after yesterday. And then I dreamed some stuff and I just couldn't get back to sleep. And because I kind of thought of talking to you since I woke up I just... didn't try to get back to sleep afterwards.' The response seemed almost bashful.

Alicia grinned in response. This right here, this was why Al was so interesting to her. It seemed she was so honest at times, only later realizing the implications of what she had said. It was as entertaining as it was endearing. Al coughed quietly.

'Okay, should we get started?'

Alicia decided to let it slide. She was quite certain that the short haired brunette had not intended to reveal quite this much to her when they barely knew each other. And she really did need help with the conventions.

'Yes, let's get started. I'll share my screen with you and then we can do the transcript together?' she suggested.

'Sounds good, beau.'

'Did you just call em beau? As in did you just speak French?' Alicia asked wide eyed. Al's reply was a smug grin and a nod. Alicia knew she was in so much trouble right now. This woman would be the absolute end of her. How could she concentrate on learning when the person explaining it to her made her mind go blank on a regular basis. Well, as regular as it could be when you had barely interacted.

As it turned out after over an hour of Al patiently explaining the conventions to her, she could not fucking focus. At all. She could have told Al the exact name of her eye-color. Or how many times her hair had fallen into her eyes making her brush it back behind her eyes. What she couldn't tell Al however, was what the heck she had explained to her in the past hour. She took a deep breath and suggested a small study-break. This was exhausting, but still in the best way.

The study-session took up almost four hours of Alicia's train-ride. To be fair, it had taken a long time for her to get into the topic, but now she was feeling almost competent enough to do her assignment. She was incredibly glad that Al had been so incredibly patient with her. She didn't know if she would have kept her cool at at her obvious distraction. Another thing she learned about Al was that she was also really good at teaching. It was understandable and all in all she had done way better than most of the professors Alicia had. 

After another hour of talking to each other they had gotten more comfortable with each other and Al had taken her laptop with her into the kitchen and prepared her lunch while they were talking. Alicia had changed from sitting in her seat to basically lying over two seats with her laptop on top of her thighs. It felt natural to keep on talking. The conversation took turns, one topic blending into the next. At times they just sat in a comfortable silence, neither feeling the need to fill it. Alicia had a permanent smile on her face and Al's eyes kept shining brightly. It was so incredibly weird how normal it felt. 

The rest of Alicia's journey was over in an instant and she felt incredibly bad when she realized that Al had now kept her company for 9 hours, but Al reassured her that it was the perfect way to spend the day. She could do nothing but silently agree. Even though her body felt terrible from sitting in weirdly uncomfortable positions all day she was happy. The day had given her another view into the person that was Al. And she would gladly trade the slight (okay, major) discomfort of the terrible seats. 

'Ugh, my back hurts.' she quietly groaned.

'And here I thought that I was the older one, grandma.' Al teased.

'Shut up, you're terrible.' was the reply, delivered with a wide grin. The grin turned into a scowl when her back hurt again. 'Shit this seriously hurts. I need a bed. Or a bath. Or a massage. Maybe all three of them?' she added thinking out loud at this point. Al's eyebrow shot up and her mouth opened for what was surely going to be a teasing remark. 'Don't even.' Alicia warned. Al looked at her with pure innocence displayed on her face. Of course the twinkle in her eye told Alicia that her assumption had been spot on.

'I would never.' Al teased, seemingly affronted by the fact that Alicia would even consider accusing her of making an inappropriate comment. 'But if I WERE to say anything, if you are still sore when you come back, I got two perfectly good hands to ease the pain.' The tone was light, sincere and a little bit nervous. Alicia had to smile at that.

'You just wanna get me out of my clothes, Al.' she teased. 

Suddenly a loud cough ripped her out of her trance and she realized that she had said that out loud, in a now pretty filled train. Of course she would embarrass herself in front of Al, how else should it be. A man that was probably in his 40s sat in the seats next to hers and kept on coughing. He looked at her as if she had personally suggested for him to join them. It was uncomfortable to say the least. When she looked back at Al the woman had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard. They kept talking about safer topics and said goodbye when the time to depart the train came, with the promise of texting again soon. 

Alicia packed up her bags and mentally prepared her for what was to follow. Over a day of being back with her family. She would be glad if it was boring, but the probability of that happening approximated zero. Taking a deep breath she stepped toward the trains doors and made her exit into the evening-heat of Los Angeles.


	3. Savior on the phone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alicia comes to the house and LA has some surprises for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this chapter being so short, I had a bit of stress. Writing a 10 page term paper in two days because the dealine was changed is not as fun as it sounds. But this project is my way of coping with the stress :D
> 
> Question: What's your favorite way to destress?  
> Mine is probably listening to music, losing myself in stories or dancing :)
> 
> Stay safe lovely people <3

Saturday night was exhausting. Nick had apparently run away (yet again) and Madison had of course conveniently kept that information to herself so Alicia would not stay at Berkley. That also meant that she was too occupied to pick Alicia up at the train station, and so she was in for a surprise when instead of her mum the person waiting for her was no other than Travis, her mothers new boyfriend. Alicia didn't like him and that was no secret to anyone. Not even to Travis himself. She liked to think she had matured a bit during the past months after graduation, but right now she was disappointed in her mother for letting her down yet again and thoroughly pissed. She tried being civil, channeling all the positive vibes she had in her right now, greeting Travis with a half smile. It most likely looked like a grimace, but at least she tried. Gladly Travis seemed to understand that. He quickly talked her through what was going on at the moment as they walked to the car. The car ride was quiet and Alicia had put her headphones in, spacing out as she watched the buildings fly by. Soon she would get some food, then go to bed. Anything else would have to wait until the next day. 

Back at the house she was in for yet another surprise. Her mother had left Travis a voicemail, telling him that she was still out searching for Nick, and that she would appreciate it if Travis and Alicia would both join in the search. Travis took a careful look at the girl. She was visibly fuming. He sighted slightly. Madison did not make it any easier for her daughter to get along with him with her behavior. After a minute of silence Alicia looked at him, the expression less angry and more defeated.

“You know I love my brother, but I have been out all day, the journey was frankly a disaster for my back and I am in no shape to go out looking. I really am not in the shape to do that tonight.” she stated quietly. Travis nodded and sighted again.

“I know. I don't know what she was thinking, wanting you to come with. Anyone would be exhausted after that long train-ride.” He smiled softly at her. 

“I don't think she IS thinking, that's kind of the problem here.” Alicia commented dryly.

“There's some roasted vegetables in the oven, you can just warm them up. Take a breather tonight.” 

“Thanks Travis, I will. Can you text me when you find him?”

“Of course. But now I really should go, I bet your mom is already waiting on me.” With another slight smile and a small wave he left. 

Alicia went to the kitchen table and leaned on it with her elbows, head in hands. This was so not what she had thought this day would be like. She was tired and her bones hurt from the seats in the train. Taking a deep breath she straightened up again and walked to the oven. The vegetables looked nice, but she was too tired to warm them up. She grabbed a clean plate from the cupboard and filled it up. Afterwards she grabbed a glass of water and set it on the table. Grabbing the phone she thought of texting Al. She had long flown way past desperate in her demeanor. It didn't matter to her anymore, Al seemed to genuinely like her anyways. She pulled up Al's contact and decided to text her.

Alicia (8:20 PM)   
Just got home, did not go the way I expected

Al (8:21 PM)  
Care to elaborate? 

Alicia (8:21 PM)  
My brother's missing again. My mom is out to search for him. Her bf picked me up at the train station.

Al (8:21 PM)  
Damn. So now it's just you two?

Alicia (8:21 PM)  
Ah, no. My mom called him, he had to leave as well. Glad I could stay here. 

Al (8:21 PM)  
You take a 10 hour train ride to be alone at home? Want some company?

Alicia (8:21 PM)  
Nothing I can do about that, can I? Gladly

Al (8:22 PM)  
vid-call?

Alicia smiled to herself. Talking to Al would definitely cheer her up. There's an upside to everything she thought to herself, opening up her bag, grabbing the laptop and starting it up. Meanwhile she shoved some of the food in her mouth. When the laptop had booted up she started a video-call with Al. Not half a minute later Al's face was smiling at her from the screen. She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Thank god. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” was the first thing Al said with a concerned expression. It made Alicia relax slightly. She didn't have to pretend right now, she could just be.

“Well, truthfully I don't know what there is to talk about. It's hardly the first time she did something like this.” she replied, rolling her eyes slightly. “I think I'm more pissed at myself for not expecting it. For being affected by it.” she added quietly. Now Al's brows had furrowed.

“Don't you dare, this is not your fault. What you're doing is completely normal human behavior.” Al said with a steely voice. Then in a softer tone “I've got your back, don't forget that. And if you need to talk to someone you can always talk to me. Trust me, I know fucked up families.”. She added a crooked grin when saying the last part. Alicia gave her a grateful smile.

“Thanks Al. Anyway, let's talk about something else. Also... is it okay if I eat while we talk? I didn't really get to before calling.” She blushed at the admission, and Al now looked at her like the cat that caught the canary. 

“Eager to see me, were you?” she teased grinning, eyes twinkling knowingly. Alicia just laughed and waved her off.

“Oh you shut up.” she said, smiling broadly. Once again, the calm was back. The air was lighter, the weight on her shoulders got bearable. “Thank you.” she added, quietly. “I really needed that.” 

After that moment they were both a little calmer, just enjoying the time spent together. At times there would be a stretch of silence where Al would just smile at her screen and Alicia ate some of her meal. After half an hour of calm and comfortable conversation Alicia grew tired and couldn't suppress a yawn. Al looked at her endearingly as if she were a puppy. 

“I should let you get to bed, shouldn't I.” she stated. “I'll stay with you until you get to sleep, if you want.”

“Sounds good. Even though I would have loved to spend some more time with you, I'm just so tired.”

“Rightfully so, you spent almost 10 hours on a train.” Al laughed.

Alicia smiled, getting up and turning the laptop to face the kitchen. 

“Just let me wash this up real quick, I'll be done soon.”

“Take your time, beautiful. I'm not going anywhere.” Al smiled.

“Charmer.” was the only reply she could muster. Her ears were burning and she let her hair fall in her face so it would cover up the redness and the ridiculous grin that had appeared at the statement. 

Not ten minutes later Alicia walked upstairs towards her room, laptop in hand. As she opened up the door to her room she set the laptop down on her bed, turning to the light switch and then looking around. Her mouth fell open at what she saw. Since she was last here, her mother had stacked a ton of moving boxes in her room and at the window there was now some weird fitness bike thing. Mouth still hanging open she looked to Al whose eyes were wide. 

“This is definitely NOT how I left my room. What the hell?” she exclaimed, sounding angry. She knew she had a short temper at times, but today Madison had really outdone herself. Without even facing her once, she reminded herself. Al silently stared at a furious Alicia, not really knowing what to do to make it better. “I mean come on, really?” Alicia added, sounding exasperated. “Just one fucking time I want to come here and not walk into some shit. Apparently even that's to much to ask.” 

“I wish I were there with you.” Al suddenly blurted out. “I don't want you to deal with that shit alone. But for now I'm only a call away.” Alicia let out a deep breath, face still showing her anger.

“Thank you. As great as that would be, you can't shelter me from this shit. I've had enough, I'm actually thinking of going home early.” After a short pause she added “She really outdid herself today.”They were both quiet for a moment, Alicia roaming around in her closet and grabbing her sleepwear. 

“I'll change real quick, can you wait for me?” she quietly asked. Al nodded encouragingly.

“Take your time.”

A few minutes later, Alicia returned and turned off the lights, putting the laptop on the mattress and lying down next to it, onto her covers. It was too warm to use them anyway. They smiled at each other for a few minutes. 

“Thank you for today, you were a literal life-saver, Al” 

“Always, beautiful.”

Alicia blushed again, glad that it was dark and most likely Al couldn't see how red her face had turned. She yawned again. Her energy reserves were all used up. 

“Get to sleep, I'll talk to you tomorrow.” Al smiled at her.

“Kay. Good night Al.” Alicia smiled at the camera sleepily.

“Night, Sleep well 'Licia.” was the quiet answer.

They ended the call, and Alicia barely had the energy to put the laptop down next to the bed. A few minutes later she was asleep. 

-

The next morning Alicia woke up at 6 AM and checked her phone. She had one message from Travis and one from Al. She first opened the chat with Travis.

Travis (3:16 AM)  
Hey Alicia, we found your brother. We're at the hospital, don't worry it's not as bad this time. Your mom will stay the night and I got Chris tomorrow. We'll hopefully be back around noon.

Alicia didn't expect anything else. At least Nick was safe for now. A little lighter now, she opened the chat with Al.

Al (5:01 AM)  
Good morning beautiful, I hope you have a good start into the day. I'm free so in case you are in need of company (or just want to talk I guess :P) I'm happy to keep you company. 

That was a cute message, and a good one to wake up to. She smiled sleepily and decided to go back to bed for now. But not before typing out a quick response to the other woman.

Alicia (6:05 AM)  
Good Morning :) I could get used to waking up to messages that cute. Nick's safe, and now I'll get back to sleep for another hour, still home alone so I gotta take advantage.

Al (6:05 AM)  
Take advantage of it. I'm glad he's okay. Talk later :)

Alicia (6:06 AM)  
Ttyl <3 

With a deep sigh Alicia curled up in her bed again and decided to just let the rest of the world be for now. For now she could just sleep and dream of brown eyes and a captivating smile. Funny how Al had come into her life just at the right time, without her she didn't think the day before would have ended that way. She would have lashed out at her mother, and realistically speaking, probably Travis as well.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy it :)  
> I love me some comments, so don't hesitate!  
> Stay safe, lovely people <3


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